Category: Dogs

It’s OK to be happy. Let yourself. Sit in the sunshine, hear the birds, let the wind rustle your hair. Exhale. Just be.

Not everything needs to be mulled over and over and dissected and examined into infinity. Not everything needs to be understood.

I think I decided to up and move in the time it took me to blink. It was one of those “why not?” kind of moments that just came out of nowhere. But it made so much sense. Once that train started rolling, it all happened pretty quick, at least in retrospect. I mean, some things felt like an eternity (waiting on the appraisal, for example) but in the end, everything just fell in place. Like it was meant to be. And now, here I am. Sitting on my back porch on my own little piece of Texas. Spring has arrived… the bluebonnets are popping up all over, and everything turned green almost overnight. (Well, except for the dust-bowl that I call a backyard… but working on that!) There is sunshine, and birds, and plenty of space for dogs. I call it… wait for it… the Dog Ranch!

My first foster dog arrived last week. His name is Elroy, and he is a hot mess. You know that’s just how I like them. He doesn’t have much hair, he’s shy, and he’s skinny. His face looked like concrete when he was rescued, but he looks better every day.

He is hella goofy and a little unsure about me, but he took right to my girls. Novella has taken him under her wing – she’s so good like that. She’s teaching him about Tug and Chase and about really good naps. About feeling the wind and the warmth of the sun. About chasing birds and scavenging for the bird seed that falls from the feeder. About just being happy.

He didn’t know about soft beds, but he does now. He just found out that he likes squeaky toys. It takes me 10 minutes to coax him into the house every single time I let him out, but he eventually comes to me.

I packed up my house 2 months ago, and I left Houston for the hill country. I walked away, and I packed up the broken parts of me in a box and I taped it up so good. I still haven’t unpacked that box, and maybe I just won’t. That stupid box of shards and tears. Not everything has to be dealt with. Not right away, anyway.

For now, I am just letting myself be happy. And it feels good. I hope you can be happy, too.